Commemorating historic Mass Upsurge Day today.

The historic Mass Upsurge Day commemorating the 1969 movement for autonomy from Pakistan that eventually led to the Liberation War and emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 will be observed today. On January 24, 1969 Matiur Rahman Mallik, a standard-IX student of Dhaka's Nabakumar Institution, and Rustam Ali, a rickshaw- puller, were killed in police firing on demonstrators in Dhaka as Pakistani rulers desperately tried to suppress the popular uprising. The killings triggered intense protests across the country that eventually saw the fall of the Autocrat Ayub regime. There is saying that the day teaches the Bengalis values of democracy and protest against oppression. On the eve of the day, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages expressing profound respects for those who had embraced martyrdom in the historic movement in 1969. 'January 24, 1969 is a historic day in the progress of independence and democracy of Bangladesh,' said the president, in his message. The head of state added that the day has been remembered in the history of country's struggle for independence and freedom movement as the day of mass uprising. He also paid profound respects to the memory of those who were martyred in the freedom movement of the country. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the the Historic Six-Point Movement in 1966 to liberate the Bengali nation from the then Pakistani rule, exploitation and deprivation, Hamid said, adding that the 6-point was the liberation charter of Bengalis, including autonomy. He said that after the 6-point declaration, the speed of the freedom movement intensified and it spread all over East Bengal. The joint movement of Awami League(AL) as well as various political parties and student organizations accelerated the mass movement, he recalled, adding that the then dictator filed the...